GMF BARCELONA JAZZ WORKSHOP 2026
PROGRAMME JULY 9 - 15
A COURSE FOR ALL VOCALISTS & INSTRUMENTALISTS ALIKE
A COURSE FOR JAZZ VOCALISTS
THE ART OF ACCOMPANIMENT
THE ART OF SOLOING
THE ART OF ENSEMBLE PLAYING
RHYTHM & PULSE WORKSHOPS
ENSEMBLES
JAM SESSIONS
SAMBA
CHOIR
CHI GONG & TAI CHI
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TEAM
This year we are honoured and privileged to have with us again a team of outstanding artists who are by turns world class performing artists and devoted teachers, or musical guides. Each and every member of the team, by their presence, brings something absolutely unique to this event, and they work, both singularly and together with the students, to form a single learning community.
DEBORAH BROWN - VOCALS
CARLA COOK - VOCALS
JOCELYN GOULD - GUITAR
PERICO SAMBEAT - SAXOPHONE
BRUCE BARTH - PIANO
LLUC CASARES - SAXOPHONE
WILL BONNESS - PIANO
POL OLMEDES - TRUMPET
MATYAS GAYER - PIANO
MARK HODGSON - BASS
FRANCESCO PETRENI - PERCUSSION & DRUMS
STEPHEN KEOGH - DRUMS & PULSE
CLARISSA FONTANA - CHI KUNG & TAI CHI
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News and special mentions:
Deborah Brown is one of the finest jazz vocalists in the business, a "singer's singer" with a magnificent voice and mind-boggling technique, and regarded one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Article by Victor Schermer for All About Jazz
We are thrilled to have the amazingly talented Canadian guitar virtuoso, vocalist and composer Jocelyn Gould and Will Bonness Canadian jazz pianist, who won the Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2022 for his album Change of Plans
Also joining us will be the incredible Detroit jazz and soul singer-songwriter Carla Cook, and the brilliant and illustrious alto saxophonist and composer Perico Sambeat.
No stranger to Barcelona and one of the great pianists in Jazz today Bruce Barth; who is not only one of the leading jazz musicians and composers of his generation, but also a sought after producer and a superb vocal accompanist. Tony Bennet, with whom Bruce worked for a couple of years, regarded him as one of his favourite pianists.
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Timetable (provisional)
July 9
Arrival Day
16.00 - 18.00 register at the ticket desk at Jamboree Jazz Club
19.00h. welcome concert
22.00h late show & jam session
July 10 - 15
09.00 - 09.50 tai chi and chi gong | Escuela Superior de Musica Jam Session
10.00 - 10.30 pulse / listening/ concentration/ silence | Escuela Superior de Musica Jam Session
10.30 - 12.30 (with coffee break) samba & choir | Escuela Superior de Musica Jam Session
12.30 - lunch break | lunch break | Can Julio highly recommended
14.00 - 15.15h Instrumental classes | Escuela Superior de Musica Jam Session
1530h - 17.00h Combo/Ensemble Session | Escuela Superior de Musica Jam Session
JULY 15
Morning timetable the same as above.
After lunch there will be the final rehearsals for students concert in the evening.
JULY 16
Departure day
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The Programme
Morning Sessions and Workshops
We begin each day by coming together to participate in a unique sequence of activities which collectively stimulate self-awareness and enhance creativity.
These sessions will feature a different combination of activities every day: expect regular workshops on pulse, rhythm, vocal/body/breathing, movement and connection.
Chi kung & Tai Chi - with Clarissa Fontana
Chi Kung is an a introspective work based on the consciousness of oneself using simple, though not necessarily easy, exercises. The person listens to the body connecting physically with the earth and the sky and finding ones place between them as part of nature. This kind of work allows one to connect all different parts of the body as one and feel new sensations of fullness.
Tai Chi Form is used to make the body strong in various ways; through understanding the principles of relaxation and connection, spiral movement, expansion/contraction, movement on one point, exertion of force, and much more...This type of training, when applied to a musician's relationship to his/her instrument, and in a performance situation, can bring tremendous physical and mental ease, composure and confidence.
Pulse Training - by Stephen Keogh
Pulse lies at the heart of music, and developing one's own inner pulse is the goal of these sessions. The work fosters concentration and awareness – of the pulse, of silence, of the other members of the group. This workshop is hugely beneficial to musicians of every kind.
Samba Training - with Francesco Petreni
Under the guidance of master percussionist Francesco Petreni we learn traditional songs, authentic rhythms and calls, as performed at the carnivals of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and Bahia, as well as from other areas of Brazil. Learning to sing, move and play percussion simultaneously is a powerful training and a wonderful thing to experience.
Vocal and Body
The workshop explores the use of energy and the voice, and fine tuning body and mind coordination within a musical context. Using song material from all around the world we work at enhancing the quality of our listening skills and the sounds we produce.
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Afternoon Sessions
Instrumental Class
These sessions are led by a tutor for students to work to improve and develop their instrumental technique; dexterity, fluidity, speed, as well as sound and projection.
Ensembles
Guided by a tutors students split into several groups to learn and prepare pieces for public performance. The art of blending and playing as one is the focus of this session. Improvisation/soloing and group composition are also an important part of these sessions.
Evenings
19.00h & 20.30h concert at Jamboree Jazz Club Sala 1
Nightly concerts by GMF Artists at the above times. The details of the concerts will be announced in February 2026.
22.00h Late Show and jam session Jamboree Jazz Club Sala 3
Every night, from 9 to 15 July, in Jamboree’s SALA 3, from 10 p.m. until the early hours of the morning, there will be concert of one set featuring GMF artists alongside some exceptionally talented newcomers and young rising stars from Barcelona and abroad, followed by a Jam Session in which participants on the course and guests mix up to play their favourite songs or take on musical challenges, all in a relaxed, friendly and informal atmosphere.